Memoir... (1469 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.63 on 19 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Foolproof (View user info) at 2006-03-07 11:48:11 EST
I grew up in Cresson, PA. A small middle class town. Nothing going on. Safe and secure. It was also one of the best places a person could live. Lately, as I age and my own mortality is realized thanks to wars, I've been remembering "the good ole days".
Sometimes it will be a certain odor, or sight, or sound. My mind will go racing back to the past and the vivid memories will come rushing back.
Spring was amazing and vibrant. My parents' yard was always full of yellow dandelions. The smell of them filled the crisp spring air. It was usually raining, as it does in the Laurel Highlands at that time of year. As the season waned, the weather would warm, but never more than 60 degrees. The children would again be outside playing, pale from being cooped up during the long winter. Everything seemed alive once again.
Then there was summer. Glorious in that we had no school, no responsibilities. The temperature was always around 70 to 80 degrees, never hotter. Nobody had air conditioning in their houses, it just wasn't necessary. I would spend all day with my friends, playing in the forest when we were young - partying there when we were teens. Everything was serene and one never thought about growing old.
Autumn was my favorite time of year. Foggy and wet. Dreary, actually. The leaves were every color of the spectrum from red to violet. I would just walk around my town, savoring the smell of dried leaves and smoke from chimneys. I could do nothing at all and be the happiest I have ever been.
When winter came, it came with a vengeance. The snow would be called for in feet - we scoffed at inches. School would be cancelled many days, but that is how we all became so proficient at video games, reading, and all sorts of indoor tasks. When the temperature was safe, above the mark where frostbite happened in minutes, we would go sledding at a hill at the playground behind my parents' home. When I was older, I adored the winter nights. After a snow storm, everything was silent and still. I would go outside and it seemed I was the last living thing on Earth. The sky was filled with stars and I found peace.
I'm not sure when I stopped noticing the wonder of the world around me. I guess there just comes a time when you are too busy to notice the intricate veins in a leaf of the smell of the grass. I became so consumed with "life" that I could no longer detect a gentle summer breeze and the wonder that was carried on it as it caressed my face.
Sometime, if I concentrate, I can find these things now. It saddens me some that this is the way things are.
User Reviews
Submitted by URMY_bitch (user info) at 2006-08-16 12:06:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
No Comment
Submitted by UnderOathMeal (user info) at 2006-08-08 22:04:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good shit.
The only thing I would add: rhododendron in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the thick of summer.
Submitted by forthewin (user info) at 2006-08-08 21:56:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Wow.
Submitted by Cinderblock (user info) at 2006-08-05 07:57:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-06-02 10:09:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Nominated for best ever:
http://www.ubersite.com/m/88684
Submitted by ih8u2man (user info) at 2006-03-25 11:13:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Very good.
Submitted by Dead_0hi0_Sky (user info) at 2006-03-25 11:09:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2006-03-25 11:07:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm older than dirt, but your post brought back memories.
Climbing trees, throwing rocks in the creek, treasure-hunting
at the local dump. . .
Getting old and having responsibilities really sucks.
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-03-25 10:55:04 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This is one of my favorite posts ever, and will be included in my upcoming "Best of Uber" post.
Submitted by ampersand (user info) at 2006-03-07 16:11:04 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Reminds me of my childhood even though I'm only barely not still a child. When we party outside we like to build a fire and just stand around it and drink/smoke/talk/whatever.
Submitted by MichelleNJ (user info) at 2006-03-07 13:46:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by HighVoltage900 (user info) at 2006-03-07 11:53:44 (#)
Ranking: 1
This was touching.... I *sniff*....
...NO FUCK YOU I'M NOT CRYING!
Submitted by cuberat (user info) at 2006-03-07 13:26:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Lenin (user info) at 2006-03-07 13:10:27 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-03-07 12:37:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2006-03-07 12:25:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Scott's Pro Turfbuilder will take care of that dandelion problem for you. Or you could hire the Mexicans from the next town over.
Submitted by MyTeeOne (user info) at 2006-03-07 12:20:44 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I can relate good sir, and well written.
I love driving home. I love going from the city, into the country and smelling the corn when it is first coming up. I love the sticky summer nights around the fire in my parents backyard.
Submitted by Hilarity_Ensues (user info) at 2006-03-07 12:15:25 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Stopping in your tracks, closing your eyes, and just letting the breeze skim over you is one of the small personal pleasures you should ALWAYS make time for.
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop to look around once in a while, you might just miss it."
Submitted by HighVoltage900 (user info) at 2006-03-07 11:56:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
1.5 more like what I want it to be....
There ya go.
Submitted by HighVoltage900 (user info) at 2006-03-07 11:53:44 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
This was touching.... I *sniff*....
...NO FUCK YOU I'M NOT CRYING!